Obama To Call Republican Party’s Bluff In Supreme Court Battle

Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's name is being floated as a potential nominee.

In a bit of political intrigue, President Barack Obama is said to be considering nominating Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a centrist former federal judge, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, reports the Washington Post.

If Republican leaders retreat from their threat to postpone hearings on the nomination until after the election, Obama wins, because it would highlight their obstructive and partisan politics.

Though the review process is in its initial phases and it is unclear whether the governor could ultimately emerge as the president’s pick, even the prospect of his nomination poses a difficult dilemma for Senate Republicans who have promised not to consider any nomination before November’s elections.

Watch Roland Martin, Rep. Terri Sewell and the NewsOne Now panel’s heated debate over the White House reportedly floating Brian Sandoval, the Republican Governor of Nevada as a possible nominee for the Supreme Court.

After The Washington Post published news of Sandoval’s consideration Wednesday, GOP leaders insisted that Obama nominating a Republican would make no difference.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who on Tuesday pledged “no action” on any Supreme Court nomination before the election, said in a statement that the nominee “will be determined by whoever wins the presidency in the fall.”

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, refused to comment on whether Sandoval was being considered for the nomination “because he did not want ‘to get into a rhythm of responding’ to every report on a potential nominee,” the report says.